Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Florida Atlantic
Arkansas State
Indians Sneak Past Owls, 84-77
2/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2007
JONESBORO, AR (January 31, 2007) - DeAndre Rice scored a career-high 32 points and Carlos Monroe added 22 points and 12 rebounds but Arkansas State made seven of its first nine three-point attempts in the second-half to overcome a halftime deficit against the Florida Atlantic University men's basketball team, 84-77 at the Convocation Center on Wednesday.
Rice went 13-for-21 from the field, 3-for-9 from behind the arc, in his career performance. He tied a career-high with 38 minutes played and grabbed three rebounds. Monroe scored 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.
"DeAndre gave us a great effort," Head Coach Rex Walters said. "In some respects, it was a wasted effort (because we couldn't come up with the win)."
Adrian Banks, who entered the game averaging 21 points as the Sun Belt Conference's second-leading scorer and top three-point shooter, had just three points at halftime but hit five of nine triple tries in the second half to catapult the Indians past the Owls. FAU led from the opening tip until a Banks three gave ASU its first lead of the game with 11:04 remaining in regulation and finished with 22 points, 18 of those coming on threes.
The Owls led 36-32 at the half after leading by as many as 12 in the early going. ASU's Ryan Wedel hit a three right before the break to bring the Indians close. Rice (16) and Monroe (10) combined for 26 of FAU's 36 first-half points.
ASU shot 59.4 percent in the second half, 8-of-13 from long range. FAU shot 46.7 percent in the final 20 minutes, but was just 1-for-9 from behind the arc and shot 17.6 percent from deep in the contest while ASU finished at 50.0 percent (11-for-22).
FAU won the battle of the boards, 39-31, but ASU went on a 13-7 run that started just inside the six-minute mark with the score 66-65 to pick up the win. After FAU had led the first 29 minutes of the game, the lead changed seven times and was tied three times in the final 11 minutes. FAU (10-12, 6-6 SBC) is now 3-10 on the road this season and has lost four in a row away from FAU Arena.
The Troy Trojans await FAU for a Saturday showdown in Troy, AL. The Owls defeated the Trojans earlier this season, 91-87, in Boca Raton.
